HP Innovation Journal Issue 10: Fall 2018 | Page 7

“I dwell in possibility.” This well-known expression, penned in 1862, is
the first line of a poem by Emily Dickinson. It’s generally interpreted to have been a reference to
her craft, but it’s not half bad as a credo for technologists and futurists. Dwelling in possibility
conveys a sense of optimism, of curiosity, of limitlessness that resides in many of us who
innovate and invent, using technology to solve problems, improve processes and enhance our
experience on the planet.
In this issue, we consider the future of computing—as it is shaped by global megatrends and
as it, in turn, shapes the ways we learn, work and go about our daily lives. This future, and
our role in it, is a driving interest and focus for me, for Mike Nash—our Chief Technologist
for Personal Systems—and for our global teams. Our horizon, in this case, is 2030: not right
around the corner but close enough to feel real, even imminent. We have all seen firsthand the
transformative impact of technology on the world and in our own lives. We’ve seen firsthand
how our quest to innovate and build can both create and solve problems for humans and the
planet. Day to day as we consider where it’s all going, we dwell not only in possibility but in
ambiguity, complexity and uncertainty. Still, I’m pretty sure that our team here at HP would
choose these conditions every time over work that was predictable and easy.
The familiar context of the Information Age has given way in recent years to the Experience
Age. References to the Experience Age are sometimes vague and sometimes vivid but generally
describe the “new normal” state, in which technology adapts to our lives and preferences, and
not the other way around. Everything from product design to manufacturing to the workplace
and school has been, or is being, transformed. Increasingly, human experience is the focus
and the heart of this work. Businesses across industries feverishly apply the tools of digital
transformation to be more efficient, more sustainable, more flexible, more secure. It all tracks
back to creating a better experience for people. The customer experience bar is set ever higher,
self-perpetuating and accelerating. The expectations we already have today for technology will
define our road to 2030 and the world we find when we get there. Already, many of us expect
to be able to integrate our work and personal lives on our own time and on our own terms,
taking connectivity and security for granted. We expect more and better personalization as AI
develops, and we want much of what we use and consume to be available on demand,
as a service.
I invite you to come along with us in these pages for a visit to the year 2030. How will we define
the workplace in the near future? How will we equip classrooms? How will health care have
advanced? How will retail and manufacturing have changed? Moreover, how are businesses,
educators and other leaders cultivating the workforce we will need a decade from now? This
work is all about possibility, as are the pages of this issue—exploring a future that is so close at
hand and, paradoxically, so far away.
SHANE WALL
HP Chief Technology Officer